■ And they said Arnold wasn’t a true Kennedy!
■ Schwarzenegger’s big win in California is being taken in some quarters as a sign that there is a new Republican party aborning—one that is “inclusive,” “tolerant,” cool, and not uptight about such matters as the killing of unborn children in the womb. The media do this every time a liberal Republican gets elected: Remember when Christie Whitman was hailed as the future of the GOP? The Republican party remains broadly conservative. Schwarzenegger may very well have lost a Republican primary if one had been held. While the idea persists that California voters hate and fear conservatives, the opinion polls say that the most popular politician in California is a pro-life, pro-gun fiscal conservative named Tom McClintock. If Schwarzenegger had not run, indeed, McClintock might have won the race. (And if McClintock had not run, Schwarzenegger might have run a less conservative campaign.) The new governor will have plenty to do next year. He will need to fight for tax and spending reforms with a left-wing legislature, and take the fight to the public if (when) the legislature is obstreperous. We wish him good luck, and good judgment—which would preclude him from trying to be the national leader of the left wing of the GOP.
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